Team replace BOTH drivers for Baku as official statement issued ahead of Azerbaijan GP

The F1 Baku race track in Azerbaijan has a semi-transparent FIA flag in front of it — Photo: © IMAGO

Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Team replace BOTH drivers for Baku as official statement issued ahead of Azerbaijan GP

Baku will host a race weekend for F1 and F2

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Monday 15 September 2025 17:57

This weekend marks the 17th round of the 2025 F1 championship where McLaren's driver duo will continue to battle it out in Baku with just 31 points between them.

After last time out, Oscar Piastri continues to lead the standings, but his team-mate Lando Norris is still within touching distance of his first drivers' title.

But it's not just the stars of the papaya F1 team who will be eager to secure points at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, with a McLaren academy driver now confirmed to be making his debut in fellow FIA series F2.

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The feeder series has just three rounds of the campaign left but despite this, Trident F2 team announced ahead of this weekend that they would be replacing both of their drivers.

Sami Meguetounif and Max Esterson parted ways with the team before the end of the season, with their replacements now announced as Laurens van Hoepen and Martinius Stenshorne for Baku.

Trident revealed their new lineup for the Azerbaijan GP via a post on social media that read: "DRIVERS ANNOUNCEMENT- We are delighted to announce Martinius Stenshorne and Laurens Van Hoepen, as part of our Formula 2 team. Welcome guys!"

McLaren star handed F2 drive

Stenshorne joined the McLaren Driver Development programme in May 2024 and will now take on F2 machinery and the Baku circuit for the first time in his single-seater career.

Both Stenshorne and Van Hoepen just concluded their second season in F3 after the campaign ended at Monza, with the pair having competed for ART Grand Prix and Hitech TGR respectively in 2025.

Norwegian racer Stenshorne secured two wins and three podiums in F3 this season and following the announcement of his F2 drive, the 19-year-old said he was proud to be making the move.

"I’m very proud to be joining Trident Motorsport for the next round of the FIA Formula 2 Championship in Baku. This is an exciting opportunity, and I can’t wait to get on track with the team on such a unique and challenging circuit. I will give it everything and try to learn as much as possible from this new experience," he said.

His new team-mate Van Hoepen added: "I’m really looking forward to making my FIA Formula 2 debut with Trident Motorsport. It’s a fantastic opportunity to step up to the next category at such a technical and spectacular circuit like Baku. It will be a valuable experience that I can build on for the future."

Trident team manager Giacomo Ricci concluded the statements, saying: "We are delighted to announce our agreement with Laurens van Hoepen and Martinius Stenshorne, two drivers of outstanding ability and great potential. Both have proven to be frontrunners this year and in previous seasons.

"Making their debut in Baku will certainly be a big challenge, as neither of them has experience with a Formula 2 car or the circuit itself. We are fully focused on preparing for the event. At the same time, we want to sincerely thank Sami Meguetounif and Max Esterson, and wish them all the best in their future careers."

🚨DRIVERS ANNOUNCEMENT🚨
We are delighted to announce Martinius Stenshorne and Laurens Van Hoepen, as part of our @Formula2 team.
Welcome guys!🔱 #Trident #TridentTeam #TridentMotorsport #F2 pic.twitter.com/QE9TWmtjF5
— Trident Team (@trident_team) September 15, 2025

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Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

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Baku F2 Azerbaijan GP Sami Meguetounif